Country history · South America

History of Uruguay

8 recorded states lay in what is now Uruguay, from the Governorate of the Río de la Plata (1534 CE) to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. 4 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)1 without a known seat not shownOpen in the atlas →

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

16th century

  1. Governorate of the Río de la Plata1534 CE – 1617 CE · colony

17th century

  1. Governorate of Buenos Aires1617 CE – 1776 CE · colony
  2. Colonia del Sacramento1680 CE – 1777 CE · colony

18th century

  1. Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata1776 CE – 1814 CE · colony

19th century

  1. Eastern Province1813 CE – 1817 CE · other
  2. Federal League1814 CE – 1820 CE · other
  3. Cisplatina1817 CE – 1828 CE · other
  4. Oriental Republic of Uruguay1828 CE – present · republic

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of South America → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Uruguay. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/uruguay
MLA
“History of Uruguay.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/uruguay. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Uruguay.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/uruguay.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Uruguay’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/uruguay (Accessed: ).